Demonstration of an LLO CV-QKD system over 12 km of optical fiber

Abstract

Continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) promises high rates and seamless integration with classical beams within a single optical fiber. Over the years, implementations have been performed by transmitting a local oscillator reference along with the quantum channel, opening security loopholes for eavesdroppers and limiting potential applications. Here, we report on a Gaussian CV-QKD implementation using fully independent transmitter and receiver lasers (local-oscillator sources) over a 12 km fiber spool. The system was experimentally evaluated using logical frames containing approximately $10^7$ coherent states, each composed of ten independently processed subframes of approximately $10^6$ states, and security was assessed in both asymptotic and finite-size regimes under a trusted-device model. The full-fledged classical post-processing is capable of recovering the channel parameters and extracting secret key rates of 5.11 Mbit/s in the asymptotic regime and 4.67 Mbit/s in the finite-size regime, showing good agreement with theoretical predictions. This work establishes the foundation for metropolitan fiber deployment of CV-QKD under strict security constraints.